Beamish Garden on the ARS Convention Tour

ARS Convention April 21 - 25, 2026 on Vancouver Island

Garden Tours in Victoria, Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo, and Qualicum Beach

The Beamish garden is perhaps the only garden growing this rarely-seen, stunning Rhododendron ‘Shogun’. (Photo: Al Cambell)

One of the private gardens open to guests during this International Convention is the Beamish Garden.

Dr. Richard Beamish is, by any standards, an accomplished individual.

He has a PhD in Zoology. Significantly, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 as a member of the International Panel on Climate Change

He was awarded The Order of British Columbia, the province’s highest honour, recognizing citizens who have served with the greatest distinction, and excelled in any field, benefiting the people of B.C. or elsewhere.

He was also awarded The Order of Canada, the second-highest honour for merit in Canada, following the Order of Merit. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. David Anderson, Fisheries Minister in the 1990’s, described Dr. Beamish as a “National Treasure”

Richard and his wife Ann have a wonderful, established and mature rhododendron garden overlooking Nanaimo’s Hammond Bay. The hundreds of rhododendrons growing on their terraced property are a joy to view. The maritime influence allows the interspacing of marginal and exotic plants rarely seen outside of a conservatory.

The Beamish garden is one of the gardens open to tour during the upcoming ARS Convention in Qualicum. Attendees may also be fortunate enough to enjoy one of Richard’s other hobbies, the crafting of chocolate truffles which he has been known to hand out to guests.

Submitted by lan Campbell